caught many VC fighters ablaze, exploding the ammunition and grenades they carried. B Company halted in place in an effort to locate and consolidate with C Company's platoons. Together they managed to establish a coherent defensive line, running around the hilltop from southeast to northwest, but with little cover on the southern side. Later in the morning, following a second unsuccessful effort, the VC attempted a wide envelopment of both Companies B and C, by then clustered in a single position. The VC commander realized that his best chance was to hug the U.S. forces so that the 173rd's air and artillery fire could not be effectively employed. VC troops attempted to out-flank the US position atop the hill from both the east and the southwest, moving his troops closer to the Americans. The result was shoulder-to-shoulder attacks up the hillside, hand-to-hand fighting, and isolation of parts of B and C Companies; the Americans held against two such attacks. Tyler thwarted the move by committing his reserve force, A Company, but he instructed A Company's commander to avoid becoming decisively engaged because the 173rd lacked enough helicopters to bring up reinforcements quickly. With their focus on overrunning B and C Companies, the VC apparently overlooked Company A's advance through the thick underbrush with A Company coming upon them as they rushed the American position, opened fire and stopped the assault. Regrouping, the VC turned on A Company, who had to fight off three attacks in quick succession while pulling back to the east. As Company A continued its fighting withdrawal, Tyler came up on the radio to warn Daniel against leading the VC to the battalion base. The order proved unnecessary, because the VC had abandoned the pursuit. Although the fighting continued after the second massed attack, it reduced in intensity as the VC troops again attempted to disengage and withdraw, scattering into the jungle to throw off the trail of pursuing U.S forces. By late afternoon it seemed that contact had been broken, allowing Companies B and C to prepare a night defensive position and collect their dead and wounded in the center of the position. Although a few of the most seriously wounded were extracted by USAF helicopters using Stokes litters, the triple-canopy jungle prevented the majority from being evacuated until the morning of 9 November. During the fighting, Specialist Lawrence Joel, a medic, distinguished himself tending to